A PLYMOUTH man tracked down by a group of ‘paedophile hunters’ has been handed a suspended sentence, after admitting sending perverse messages to a person he thought was an underage girl but was actually a decoy adult woman who was part of a group who set up sting operations to track and catch offenders.
Darren Langford pleaded guilty at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court to intentionally attempting to communicate with a girl aged under 16 with the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification.
Appearing at Plymouth Crown Court, a prosecutor explained that Langford, of Keyes Close, Devonport, used the name Chris as a fake persona because he did not want people to know it was him sending the messages.
The court was told that 53-year-old Langford started the conversation with the ‘girl’ online on April 6, 2022, saying “nice picture Princess” and adding “certainly wish I was younger”. The “girl” claimed she was 14 and lived in Durham, but, despite being told the age of the person he was communicating with, Langford continued to send hundreds of messages to “Megan”.
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